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Published: February 17th 2013
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Ferry we took from Piraeus to MykonosToday was a very early start. We were up at 4:30 am, and breakfast was at 5:15 am. Our coach was meant to leave the hotel at 6 am, but Seb slept in so we were 15 minutes late haha. It was only a 30 minute drive to the port at Piraeus, where we boarded our ferry for the island of Mykonos! This was the place that the majority of people on the tour said they were most looking forward to, and I think it was one of the highlights of most people's trips (it certainly was for me).
At the port we had to take all of our suitcases off the coach and walk on the ferry. The coach wouldn't come with us to Mykonos- it would stay in Athens for the next three days. Krzysztof promised to meet us in Mykonos after he dropped the coach off.
The ferry left at 7:30 am, and the trip was due to take about 5 1/2 hours. We had airline-style seats like the last ferry from Bari to Patras. Since it was still early I slept for about two hours then tried to find food but there wasn't much around
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Docking in Mykonos! - mostly fast-food places like Burger King, etc. Soon we were arriving at our first stop so I forgot about food and went up to the top decks with Ann and Jenny to take some of my first photos of the Greek islands! The views were so incredible I ended up with a ton of photos - I only wish I had a better camera! After this I used some of the on-ship wifi to make everyone at home jealous with Facebook photo updates haha :P
We finally docked in Mykonos at about 1 pm. Mykonos is a part of the Cyclades, and lies between Tinos, Syros, Paros, and Naxos. It has a reputation for its beautiful landscapes and great nightlife! By this point in the trip, my sickness was totally in the past, I was feeling great, and was ready to do some partying. About half the tour was totally ahead of the rest of us, and had managed to get completely trashed on the ferry. Sounds like fun, but I'd rather actually get to see the places I'm visiting, and not be passed out by the afternoon. Also some people were being quite rude to others in
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Beach outside our hotel their state. I guess it should be expected though when half the tour likes to be drunk every day and the other half wants to moderate their drinking. I'm not trying to be judgmental - if you choose to spend your Contiki tour drunk more than half the time that is your own choice, and sometimes I'm not much better. But please respect those who choose not to be wasted! (Okay, done that rant).
From the ferry terminal we caught a shuttle bus to our resort. It is so beautiful, I wanted to stay here forever. We were staying at the Aphrodite Beach Hotel Mykonos. It is a very nice resort, our rooms weren't too luxurious or anything, but I definitely can't complain! I would be rooming with Sharna, Karly, and Debs for the next three nights. The four of us had gotten really close lately, and so I was glad we would be spending our time in Mykonos rooming together. I found that on this tour people tended to group together quite a bit, usually in groups of four haha. Not that they didn't socialize with others, but room selection seemed to always be the same.
I'm
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CONTIKI gonna take a minute to talk about something that has affected me in the past and probably affects lots of people wanting to travel. While getting settled into our rooms, Karly told me that some of the people on tour had been saying I was "too quiet". In the moment I got really upset, but meh. I don't really care now. Those people never got a chance to know me, and it was half my own fault for not talking to them either, but don't judge someone you have never even talked to before. I talked plenty around my good friends on tour. I'm not saying I was mad at those people who said that, it's just something I've been dealing with for a really long time and I don't see the problem with not being loud and screaming and drunk all the time. I find it really insulting when people tell me I'm quiet. (okay, second rant almost over!) Going on these tours has brought me out of my comfort zone and made me so much more confident in myself, and anyone out there who is dealing with self-esteem issues, shyness, or anything alike to that, don't let it
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I just wanted a drink! stop you from going on a Contiki tour. When I was in high school (and painfully shy), I took one look at a Contiki brochure and said "no way in a million years". And now, here I am, planning my fifth tour (and I've gone on all of them alone). JUST DO IT - you won't regret it!! P.S. I loved every single one of my tourmates! Just don't say that to me anymore haha.
We decided to spend the afternoon at the beach (which was right outside our resort). I pretty much blended in with the sand since I was still so pasty, and some people had fun pointing that out haha. It was so nice though, just relaxing, and sunbathing, and enjoying the atmosphere. A few people on tour rented jetskiis and it looked like they had a lot of fun. There are a lot of cool watersports you can try out here. After a while, the heat started getting to us, so I went back to the hotel to have a quick nap.
Me and Debs decided to walk to a mini-mart nearby to get some food and some alcohol for tonight. I got ice
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Karly and I in togas! cream and a Smirnoff cooler, which I wanted to drink right away, but I couldn't get the lid off. It was quite funny in the moment and we tried everything and I eventually got it off by banging the top on a sign post. We walked back to the hotel and I showered, got ready for tonight, and chatted with Debs and Karly.
Dinner was at 7:30 pm (pasta, my favourite), then we had some time to relax before our toga party tonight! I had no clue how to make a toga (and I still don't to this day), but I tried the best I could. It actually ended up looking awesome, but I couldn't think of any way to hold it in place. I ended up just tucking it together on my chest and hoping it would stay in place. It didn't really work too well, but Karly was able to fix it for me and we went out to the party. There is a cool bar at the hotel, and that's where everyone met tonight. Everyone looked awesome in their togas, and there was Greek music and dancing, and everyone just hung out and had a great
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Megan, Debs, Sean, me, and Laura time.
It had been a long day, so I was in bed at around midnight.
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